What is “Summer in JAPAN”?

Summer in JAPAN (SIJ), a non-profit educational organization based in Oita, has been providing an English summer camp where youth aged 7 to 18 from all over the world learn liberal arts-style workshops in English lead by a group of enthusiastic and talented students mainly from Harvard College, who serve as young pupils’ role models and instructors of each classroom. SIJ was founded in 2013 to foster a spirit of mutual understanding in a global era by the Founder/President and CEO Mari Hirotsuru, educator and author of many education-related books in Japan, together with her daughter Sumire Hirotsuru, a violinist and CEO/Founder of Smilee Entertainment, who graduated from Harvard College and wanted to give back. SIJ is founded on three core methods: Innovative English Education, Eventful International Cultural Exchange, and Educational Platforms in Every Single Neighborhood. In the pursuit of excellence in these three areas, SIJ recruits student instructors from top US universities. This unique composition of method and talent facilitates a robust and rewarding experience for both the instructors and their students. Programs are structured around an immersive English environment consisting of a dynamic set of workshops. These include Presentation Skills, Computer Science, Performing Arts, and Academic Writing. Program events pave the way for meaningful international exchange through the promotion of culture and the arts, including a world-class musical performance. SIJ has long sought to spread the benefits of the program to communities across Japan. For the fourth consecutive year, SIJ has held an outstanding outreach program in Kunisaki Penninsula where top-notch education usually won’t reach due to its isolated location. 2017 also ushered in SIJ’s first launch outside of Oita Prefecture, with the successful completion of “SIJ Okayama”. SIJ is a prize winner of the 5th Career Education Award from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan.

To the 2019 7th Summer in JAPAN student instructor applicants

SIJ2019 will be held exclusively in Oita and the application for student instructors from Harvard University and Stanford University will open on December 21, 2018. Due to over six years of experience as well as excellency in our distinguished curriculum, we regularly receive about 100 applications every year for the ten instructor positions. After the primary screening based on written documents and the second screening involving a in-person interview with the President/Founder and CEO of SIJ, Mari Hirotsuru, if you succeed, you will receive an amazing opportunity to discover the true Japan, for free.